In an embarrassinggaffe, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's alliance partner and Chief Minister of BiharNitishKumarsaid Sunday (May 26)he wishesthe Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader to become a chief minister again.
The flub came as Kumarwas speakingat a rally in Bihar's capitalPatnawhileurging voters to support the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
"Humaari ichha hai ki hum deshbhar me 400 se bhi zyaada seat jeetein, aur adarniya Narendra Modi ji fir mukhya mantri bane. Desh ka vikas ho, Bihar ka vikas ho, sab kuch ho (We wish to win over 400 seats across India and respected Narendra Modi should become chief minister again. Then India will develop, Bihar willdevelop, everything will happen)," Kumar said.
However, his mistakewas immediately caughtby other leaders on the stage. Nitish Kumar immediately corrected himself and said he hopes Modi becomes prime minister again and keeps moving ahead.
"Narendra Modi Pradhan Mantri toh hai hi. Hum toh keh rahe hai ki woh aage badhe. Hum yahi chahte hai (Narendra Modi is already the Prime Minister. I am saying that he will now move ahead. That is what I want)," Nitish Kumar said.
Watch:Bihar CM Nitish Kumar snaps at DMK leader over Hindi speech | Race to Power
In India, chief ministers are the head of the state governmentswhilethe prime minister is the head of the union government. Before becoming the prime minister, Modi served as the chief minister of the western Indian state of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014.
Previously, the 73-year-old JanataDal United(JDU) leader made headlines when he asked voters to support the late Ram Vilas Paswan, the veteran leader from Bihar who died in 2020.
(With inputs from agencies)